Malms Chemical sells a hand polishing tool called the Kolonsky. Since I was not sure of my skills with a power polisher, I purchased this several years ago and buy new pads every couple of years. This with Meguiars Ultimate compound has produced better results than I ever achieved with clay, plus the finish is ready to be sealed/waxed. I use Meguiars Ultimate paste wax. My cars (Deep Sea Blue 135i, mine and Carbon Black Buick Regal CXL, my wife's) never looked better.

I have yet to polish my car, and have clayed it 3 times...Haven't noticed any ill effect, but I am fairly new to detailing so what do I know. I am very careful (two-bucket, dry with a leaf-blower) with the wash/dry that I do ~weekly, so there is minimal swirling/scratches.

To be honest, I am a little intimidated by the process of polishing as I have never done it before.

Should I polish the car next time after my clay? Like I said I haven't noticed any ill-effects but I don't want to be damaging the paint.

Claying wears me out more than anything else. I parked my X5 under a tree that was dripping sap and I think I lost a year of my life just dealing with claying it all off. Miserable. After you're done claying, you have to polish it all out, then apply the wax again.

Claying wears me out more than anything else. I parked my X5 under a tree that was dripping sap and I think I lost a year of my life just dealing with claying it all off. Miserable. After you're done claying, you have to polish it all out, then apply the wax again.

You may want to look into using some of the Nanoskin Autoscrub products, specifically their wash mitt. It makes the process of "claying" (removing contaminants embedded in the paint) much more tolerable.

Yeah, tried out the Nanoskin sponge yesterday too. So much easier to use and faster than a regular clay bar! Other than getting to small, tight spaces, this is a no-brainer when it comes to clay bars.

There aren't any small tight spaces I can think of on a 1er other than the door handle area... And I only sponged all of the horizontal panels (hood, roof, trunk, bumpers) since they had all of the fallout issues... The vertical panels on my car are still smooth.

There aren't any small tight spaces I can think of on a 1er other than the door handle area... And I only sponged all of the horizontal panels (hood, roof, trunk, bumpers) since they had all of the fallout issues... The vertical panels on my car are still smooth.

I have a 2013 Carbon Black 128i myself (just arrived home Monday in fact) from CA/European Delivery. About 500 mi on the clock, and I clayed it right after its first wash. As others have said, just because it's new doesn't mean the paint is in great shape. Mine (and yours too) spent countless days waiting for transport, then however many days at the dealer too (none for me, but it did have a not super nice ride on the truck from Cali). Check it with the plastic bag test - if you can feel the sandpaper effect with bare hands, your paint DEFINITELY needs clay.

Claying with good technique/good lube helps a lot to minimize swirling. I did mine yesterday, and the only swirls were spots where I got careless or ran out of lube. None of them were very deep though, but either way I would polish right after. I don't think a machine buffer is strictly necessary, since I don't have one at the moment. I used Meg's Ultimate Polish since there wasn't anything to buff out really, couldn't find any swirls or scratches under strong lighting when I was done.

Conclusion: OK to clay, probably necessary in fact. Check to make sure, and do use proper technique. Polish not absolutely necessary after, but a good idea. Don't forget to wax (but you knew that of course)!

You shouldn't use a circular motion to begin with, only a linear motion and in the same direction the car drives...

According to Mike Phillips from Autogeek, directionality of the clay bar doesn't matter (can't post up the video right now, at work). I personally will concur with that, I don't see any differences in the end result.

According to Mike Phillips from Autogeek, directionality of the clay bar doesn't matter (can't post up the video right now, at work). I personally will concur with that, I don't see any differences in the end result.

Okay.

I was always taught to wash, wax, clay, etc. in a linear motion... You can't get swirls if you never move you hand in a circular motion.

Okay.
I was always taught to wash, wax, clay, etc. in a linear motion... You can't get swirls if you never move you hand in a circular motion.

I was taught that also, although what would have been "swirls" will just be "streaks". Either way, the modern consensus seems to be as Texan mentioned- today's clays are supple enough that any marring they may leave isn't affected by the direction of the clay.

This is great for us, as it makes the entire process a little more simple.